BRONCOS

Recent Broncos history is complicated, but John Elway’s legacy is simple and clear

Apr 4, 2023, 8:31 PM | Updated: Apr 5, 2023, 3:11 pm

As of 8:30 p.m. MDT on April 4, John Elway’s name remained on the Broncos’ staff directory.

Soon it will not be — not even as a consultant.

And even though the club had a 12-season stretch without Elway being a part of the organization, it still seems odd to consider Denver’s pro-football franchise, long a cornerstone of life in the region, without him being in the building.

Part of the reason is that the dozen seasons without Elway were nondescript and largely unsuccessful. Twelve years, one playoff win. Six of those years saw finishes of .500 or worse. There are memories of players and specific games, to be certain. But those paled with compared with what the Broncos had with Elway as quarterback … and later with Elway as an executive.

With the exception of the Broncos’ Orange Crush-fueled first Super Bowl trip in January 1978, every significant Broncos accomplishment involved Elway in some capacity. Even the opening of what is now known as Empower Field at Mile High saw Elway lead a cadre of Broncos greats onto the newly-christened grass field. And remember, it was a metro-area vote taken during a Broncos season that ended in Elway guiding the club to the Super Bowl that made the stadium possible in the first place.

Every so often in the past several months, we see mileposts that reveal just how different the future will be. The sight of a new family in the owner’s box — and the co-owning members of that clan standing in the bench area before games, deep in thought and conversation with their general manager. A coach dismissed after just 15 games because, cost be damned, the results and execution of the task were nowhere near good enough. And the sight of longtime executive Joe Ellis — whose connection with the Broncos predates Pat Bowlen’s 1984 purchase of the club — rising in exultation from his club-level seat, cheering and pumping his fist like any other die-hard Broncos fan.

It’s all so different now. And that’s why this is an appropriate moment for Elway’s final formal connection to the Broncos to end.

Whether the new era is good or bad is to be determined. Early indications of the Walton-Penner group’s stewardship are promising, because ownership and management appears to understand where its boundless resources can separate the Broncos from the pack.

Spending $100 million on upgrades to a stadium that could well be in the rear-view mirror within a decade, plunking down $400,000 on a moment’s notice just to make the field playable and passable for a forgettable regular-season finale, bankrolling this year’s largest free-agent class to compensate for an absence of draft capital, hiring the first head coach with prior experience in the role since Elway tapped Gary Kubiak for the job … all of these are signs that the future is in good hands.

That doesn’t mean Broncos Country can’t marinate in past glories that Elway made possible.

And ultimately, it won’t be the string of six-straight losing seasons — four of which happened when Elway was still general manager — that Broncos Country remembers.

The frustrations of recent years will fade. Eventually, the swings and misses at head coach and quarterback will be forgotten. Hiring two coaches who took the Broncos to Super Bowls and helping ensure that the Broncos landed Peyton Manning … those will be the pillars of his legacy as an executive.

And of his playing career … well, what more is there to say? He provided the final push that guided the Broncos toward many years of relevance and contention. The process began with John Ralston, accelerated with Red Miller and the Orange Crush, then finally bloomed with Elway and Bowlen.

Elway became the first person to win a Super Bowl MVP and then win a Lombardi Trophy as general manager. He inherited a 4-12 husk of a roster and in three years, melded inherited pieces and new ones into the most prolific offense in NFL history. In the two years that followed, he built a fearsome defense that took its place among the finest ever seen in the sport.

These are the items on the CV that matter.

Yes, there was a mess in the end. Final acts are rarely as clean as Elway’s own exit from the playing stage. It’s part and parcel of the history of the game, since time immemorial.

This is a sport in which Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry moments after the legendary coach finished a round of golf. Where the Browns sacked Paul Brown — the coach whose surname provided their nickname. Where Don Shula, who won more games than any other head coach, endured a nudge to the door.

Even Bill Belichick could face a similar indignity if he can’t point the Patriots in the right direction.

Elway, too, had something of a tap on the shoulder. There were conversations with Joe Ellis in December 2020 as that season spiraled toward a depressing finish. One day after the 5-11 campaign ended, he relinquished the GM reins.

But in the end, Elway got the dignified, smooth glide toward the exit. He played a role in selecting his successor. He spent one season remaining in his old president-of-football-operations title, and then a final campaign as a consultant.

And it’s all on his terms.

Now, with new management in control, Elway walks away not in disgrace, but as a franchise legend who made the Broncos better in three separate decades.

And that should leave Broncos Country uttering just three words:

Thank you, John.

***

Broncos

Jayden Daniels...

Cecil Lammey

How much interest do the Broncos have in LSU QB Jayden Daniels?

The Denver Broncos have interest in LSU QB Jayden Daniels, but how realistic is getting him in the 2024 NFL Draft? Watch Orange and Blue Today with Cecil Lammey and Andrew Mason! Follow @CecilLammey

12 hours ago

Drake Maye Broncos QB...

Will Petersen

Report: Broncos attending two more QB Pro Days on Thursday

Mike Klis says the Broncos will have representatives at the Pro Days of former UNC QB Drake Maye and Washington QB Michael Penix Jr

16 hours ago

Josh Reynolds...

Jake Shapiro

Broncos make significant free agent splash at WR, leaving questions

The Denver Broncos are adding a proven weapon to Sean Payton's offense, signing former Detroit Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds

18 hours ago

J.J. McCarthy Broncos mock draft...

Will Petersen

ESPN’s latest mock draft has Broncos trading to No. 4 overall

Broncos head coach Sean Payton said it's realistic for Denver to move up; Matt Miller is projecting that as reality in his new mock draft

19 hours ago

Jayden Daniels...

Andrew Mason

Broncos visiting with LSU QB Jayden Daniels after his Pro Day

Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels will meet with six teams at his Pro Day on Wednesday, including the Denver Broncos.

19 hours ago

Greg Penner...

Andrew Mason

By any name — rebuild, retool — the Broncos are under construction

The Broncos may not say "rebuild," but by any reasonable definition, they're early into construction and public expectations will reflect it.

1 day ago

Recent Broncos history is complicated, but John Elway’s legacy is simple and clear